Review of Magic in the Moonlight (2014) by Greg B — 15 Aug 2014

"Magic in the Moonlight" is another indie from Sony Pictures by director Woody Allen. Allen has a very distinct flavor to his movies, many of which are existential and explore challenging topics.

"Moonlight" is not his best work, but the film has a certain appeal of its own nonetheless. The movie stars a magician (Colin Firth) who is conscripted by his friend to prove that a young American spiritual medium (Emma Stone) is a fraud.

A zany chemistry develops between Firth and Stone, even though it would be creepy for them to date in real life. Both deliver solid performances. If I had to say anything about the movie that could have used improvement, it would be that sometimes the pacing feels clumsy and uneven but not enough to detract from the quality.

The film also tries to deal with a topic that is too sophisticated for the rom com genre. It is very hard to make a film that adequately addresses the tension between a scientific versus spiritual approach to life, and even Allen cannot deftly reconcile these elements.

Firth is like a philosopher in the film, and I feel his lines work because of his charisma --------------------------------------------- B.